Posted tagged ‘From Hell’

Frankenstein’s Womb is the latest in Warren Ellis’ occasional line of Apparat comics from Avatar. The central premise behind these books is what would comics have been like had pulp traditions besides masked vigilantes become the dominant genre in the form? They’ve also consistantly been his best work over the last few years (Crecy may actually be his greatest work ever).

So, now he’s essentially written an Alan Moore comic (think From Hell but focusing on Frankenstein instead of Jack the Ripper). Within the fairly short tale Ellis manages to explore the origins of the Frankenstein story, the history of both Mary Shelley and her closest relations, and how all of these things tie together to lay the groundwork for the modern world.

It’s a fascinating read, on a number of levels. It doesn’t quite read like an Ellis book, or something published by Avatar for that matter. It’s also far more readable than any of its peers (which may only include From Hell and Alice In Sunderland, not to sleight the achievements of either of those works). Definitely recommended.